FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

is awesome.

I've had a roll of 2mm (2mil) mylar sitting in my basement for about the last two years and today decided to make use of it in my indoor setup. I lined the walls around my grow area with it (I used Scotch brand adhesive putty people use to hang up posters), as well as lined the underside of my fluorescent light fixture to reflect more light back down.

It's so bright now that my thinner plants appear almost translucent because the light is cutting straight through them.

Best price you will find on mylar is right here ($20 and shipping is free to continental US for the '50-inch x 25-foot' roll of 2mil). Search box is on the left; run a search for mylar, and scroll down a bit. This is where I got mine. If anyone finds a better price, please let us know. The 1mil stuff is a big hassle; I recommend the 2mil, it's far easier to work with and reflects more light.

Hi Veronis,

I use a similar thing called Sun Sleeves. You cannot tear this stuff with your bare hands. I will be changing my setup to Poly as I've researched that white reflects more percentage of light than silver.

hb

hackerberry wrote:Hi Veronis,

I use a similar thing called Sun Sleeves. You cannot tear this stuff with your bare hands. I will be changing my setup to Poly as I've researched that white reflects more percentage of light than silver.

hb

I think white does reflect more than silver in general, but when it comes to comparing mylar/sun film vs. poly, this doesn't hold up.

Mylar is around 97% light reflective. Poly/Panda Film is 90% light reflective, but is more durable, waterproof, and doesn't reflect near as much heat as mylar or sun film. Sun film is 95%-97% light reflective, depending on what type you get.

For me, mylar hasn't increased my ambient temp, and I wouldn't line my light fixture with panda film - I think it'd melt. My indoor grow area is pretty small anyway and is not enclosed.

If you have a bigger or enclosed grow area, or heat concerns, poly is definitely the better choice.

7% isn't going to make much of a difference, but you *will* notice if your plants are overheated.

Yeah, I will be re-doing my setup to make it bigger so I definitely need poly.

hb

Awesome. Expanding the collection is always an exciting time.